The Goodison Park Stadium is a football stadium located in the Walton district of Liverpool, England. It has served as Everton F.C.’s home pitch ever since it was finished in 1892. It has a seating capacity of 39,414 people and is located three kilometers (two miles) north of Liverpool’s central business district.
Goodison Park Stadium has hosted more top-flight matches than any other stadium in England, despite Everton only having played in the second tier for four seasons (they were relegated in 1930 and 1951). The stadium has also hosted an FA Cup Final and numerous international games, including, among other things, a World Cup semi-final match from 1966.
History on the Goodison Park Stadium
Prior to Goodison Park Stadium
In the beginning, Everton played on an open field in the southeast corner of the recently constructed Stanley Park (on a site where rivals Liverpool FC considered building a stadium over a century later). On December 20, 1879, Everton played its first official game under the new name St. Domingo’s against St. Peter’s in Stanley Park. Admission was free. J. Cruit donated land at Priory Road in 1882 with the amenities needed for professional clubs, but after two years he asked the club to leave because the crowds had grown too large and boisterous.
Everton relocated to the nearby Anfield Road, where appropriate covered stands were constructed. Everton played its home games at Anfield from 1884 to 1892. The club became professional during this time and entered teams in the FA Cup. They won their first championship at the location in 1890–1891 and went on to become founding members of the Football League. The stadium’s capacity increased to over 20,000 when Anfield hosted an international game between England and Ireland. Everton introduced goalnets to professional football as the first club while they were based at Anfield.
John Houlding, the chairman of Everton and the majority owner of Anfield, was at the center of a dispute about the ownership and management of the club in the 1890s. Houlding and the club’s committee had a fundamental disagreement about how the club was run after their initial disagreement over the full purchase of the land at Anfield from small-time landowner Mr. Orrell. Houlding wanted the Everton players to use his public house, The Sandon, as a changing area, and he wanted Everton to sell only products from his brewery during an event.
How The Goodison Park Stadium Began
A general assembly was held on September 15, 1891, at Royal Street Hall, close to Everton Valley. John Houlding, the chairman of Everton, proposed that a limited company be established, with the new company buying his land and a piece of adjacent land owned by a nearby brewer for a total of £9,237. Football clubs were typically run as “sports clubs” with annual dues, so a club run as a limited company was unusual at the time. William Barclay, the club secretary and a close friend of Houlding, agreed with the proposal.
George Mahon, a member of the Everton board and a member of the Liberal Party, opposed the proposal by putting forth his own amendment, which the Everton board adopted. Council members from the Conservative and Liberal Parties were present on Everton’s board at the time. Mahon and Houlding had previously fought over votes in local elections.
The two men concurred that Everton ought to be a limited company, but they disagreed on the concept of share ownership. Houlding proposed issuing 12,000 shares, of which each Everton board member would receive one and the remaining shares would be offered for sale to the general public or other Everton board members. Mahon disagreed and suggested that 500 shares be issued, with board members receiving “7 or 8” shares and no member having more than 10 shares. The club will have more supporters if there are many individual applications, according to Mahon’s justification.
On January 25, 1892, a special general meeting was held in the former Liverpool College building on Shaw Street. George Mahon’s suggestion that Everton move to a different location defeated John Houlding’s proposal once more. “You can’t find one!” yelled a jeerer. I have one in my pocket,” Mahon said, revealing a lease option for Mere Green field, the location of the current Goodison Park, in Walton, Lancashire.
More: On the beginning of Goodison Park read here.
More Information on the Goodison Park Stadium
The Goodison Road Stand, Gwladys Street Stand, Bullens Road Stand, and Park End Stand are the four different stands that make up Goodison Park’s total seating capacity of 39,572.
Goodison Road Stand
Built in sections between 1969 and 1971 to replace the substantial double-decker stand created by Archibald Leitch in 1909. The lower deck of the Goodison Road Stand is a two-tiered double-decker stand. A unique name is given to each level. Another seated area, the Family Enclosure, is located in front of the Main Stand, which is the middle level of the deck. Before all-seater stadiums became common, The Enclosure was terracing. The highest point in the stadium is the Top Balcony. The stand can now accommodate 12,664 people after going entirely seated in 1987.
Because the Goodison Park site is not square, the back wall of the stand is cut into the stand. The conference and hospitality facilities are located inside the Goodison Road Stand. Goodison Park regularly hosts conferences, weddings, meetings, and parties on days when there are no games.
Bullens Road
The Bullens Road stand is divided into the Upper Bullens, Lower Bullens, and The Paddock on the east side of the field. Away fans are seated in the south end of the stand’s back row. The Gwladys Street Stand is connected to the stand’s north corner. The stand can currently hold 10,546 people. The name of the stand comes from the nearby Bullens Road. The Upper Bullens is embellished with a truss pattern that was created by Archibald Leitch.
Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End
The Gwladys Street Stand is split into Upper Gwladys and Lower Gwladys at the north end of Goodison Park. The most raucous and vocal home supporters are located in this section, known as the “Popular End.” Its colloquial name is “The Street End.” The captain typically chooses to play towards the Gwladys Street End in the second half if Everton wins the coin toss prior to kickoff. The 10,611-person capacity stand serves as the inspiration for the Hall of Fame on Gwladys Street. The Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End was given a new name in honor of Everton’s most successful manager in July 2016.
Sir Philip Carter Park Stand
The Park End Stand at the southern end of the field, behind one goal, backs onto Walton Lane, which abuts Stanley Park. The Stanley Park End was the original name of the stand, but it is more frequently referred to as the Park End. The single-tiered stand deviated from the Goodison Park custom of multiple tiers. The Park End at Goodison Park has the smallest seating capacity. On September 17, 1994, the current configuration of the stand and its 5,750 capacity were opened. David Hunt, a member of parliament, opened it. Fans could view games while the building was being constructed by scaling trees in nearby Stanley Park.
The stand served as the away fans’ seating during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It used to be accessible to home fans. A fire hazard due to the wooden terracing steps, the lower tier of the old stand’s terracing was sealed off by the turn of the 1980s. One of the last remaining features at a Premiership stadium was the front concrete terracing. Both ends of the field had a wide arc behind the goals in the 1960s and 1970s. The crowd had to be a certain distance from the goals, so this became a requirement for the 1966 World Cup.
Terraced housing was prevalent when Goodison Park was first built, and Goodison Avenue, which is now behind the Park End stand, was no exception. Strangely, housing was integrated directly into the stand (as shown on old photographs of Goodison and in programmes). Previously, the club had rented out many of the homes along the road to players. Dixie Dean, one of the players who resided there, later had a statue built in his honor on Walton Lane, close to the Park End. By the 1990s, the club had virtually destroyed the entire street, and the redevelopment of the Park End stand was taking place at the same time. However, the majority of the property is now a public parking lot for the club and its Marquee.
Other Uses of the Stadium
Football Usage
In 1894, Goodison Park hosted the first FA Cup Final at a Football League venue. A crowd of 37,000 people saw Notts County defeat Bolton Wanderers. 1910 saw a replay of the FA Cup final, and Newcastle United defeated Barnsley 2-0.
Dick, Kerr’s Ladies, and St Helens Ladies played one another at Goodison Park on December 26, 1920. At a time when the average gate at Goodison Park in 1919–20 was close to 29,000, an estimated 53,000 people watched the game. Kerr’s Ladies triumphed 4-0, Dick. More than £3,000 was donated to a good cause. The Football Association quickly outlawed women’s football. The FA’s justifications were weak, and some people believed that the women’s teams posed a threat to the men’s game. The ban was lifted in 1970.
Goodison Park was selected to serve as the host location for the “Football League – Northern Section” during the Second World War.
The Republic of Ireland defeated England in 1949 at Goodison Park, marking the nation’s first-ever loss to a non-Home Nations nation. Five games were played there, including the semifinal of the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Everton became the first club to host England internationals on two grounds when England played Scotland in April 1895 at Goodison Park. The other England international was against Ireland in 1889 at Anfield, where England won 6-2. Aigburth Cricket Club and Liverpool made history as the first English cities to host England matches at three different locations.
In 1973 home matches between Northern Ireland and England and Wales at Goodison Park.
Non-Football Usage
When King George V and Queen Mary visited Goodison Park on July 11, 1913, it made history as the first English football stadium to be visited by a reigning monarch. Gladstone Dock had been inaugurated on the same day by the present royals. To commemorate the event, a tablet was unveiled in the Main Stand. Territorial Army training drills were frequently held at Goodison during World War One.
In front of 80,000 spectators, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth presented new colors to the Liverpool Scottish (Queens Own Cameron Highlanders) and the 5th Battalion the King’s Regiment (Liverpool) on May 19, 1938, at Goodison Park.
The Lancashire rugby team played at Goodison Park in 1921 when they faced the Australian national rugby union team and lost 29-6. One of the two English venues for the Sox-Giants 1924 World Tour was selected, and it was Goodison Park. 2,000 people watched the Chicago White Sox and New York Giants play an exhibition game of baseball on October 23, 1924. One player was successful in clearing the substantial Goodison Road Stand with a ball. Stamford Bridge was the other English venue that was chosen.
According to the club’s minutes from September 1939, when the military seized control of Goodison Park, “The Chairman reported that our ground has been commandeered as an anti-aircraft (Balloon Barrage section), post.” At Goodison Park, there was a baseball league for the American forces during World War Two. A baseball game between two Army Air Force nines that attracted over 8,000 spectators also helped the British Red Cross and St. John’s Ambulance fund by raising over $3,000 for each organization.
How to Get to Goodison Park Stadium
Arriving from City Center to Goodison Park Stadium
To get to the ground, it is advised to take a bus or taxi. Buses depart from Liverpool City Centre, at Queen Square Bus Station, which is located next to the Marriott Hotel and faces Liverpool Lime Street. For more details, refer to the section on public transportation.
Arriving to Goodison Park with Public Transportation
National Rail
Kirkdale Station [KKD]: The station is 15 minutes’ walk from the ground and can be found at 1 Marsh Street in Liverpool, L20 2BN.
Liverpool Central Station [LVC]: The station is 2.6 miles away at Ranelagh Street in Liverpool, L1 1JT.
Liverpool Lime Street [LIV]: The station is 2.5 miles away at Lime Street in Liverpool, L1 1JD.
Bus
Routes 19/19A, 20, 21, 130, 210, and 250* depart from Queen Square Bus Station in Liverpool City Center, which is directly across from Lime Street Station.
Arriving by Car at Goodison Park
Click here to view Goodison Park on Google Maps.
The following major roads provide access to the stadium:
- From North: A59, M58; passing Aintree
- From South: M6, M62, passing Knutsford and Warrington
- From East: A580, M62; passing St Helens and Huyton
- From West: M53, A49; crossing the River Mersey and through Liverpool City Centre
From City Centre
2.5 miles northeast of Liverpool City Centre, Goodison Park is reachable via Great Homer Street and the A580. The A580 travels by the stadium before continuing eastward through the city.
New Everton stadium
At the Bramley-Moore Dock on the banks of the River Mersey, Everton is constructing a brand-new 52,888-seat stadium that will open to the public in the summer of 2024.
Everton has also provided images and videos of the finished design of the new stadium. It will have bars, restaurants, and “experiences” and can accommodate up to 52,888 spectators. Goodison Park has been the home of Everton since 1892.
How to Get to New Everton stadium
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